Berenecea Johnson Eanes was appointed president of Cal State LA in September 2023. She is the first woman to serve as president of the university.

Previously, Eanes served as president of York College, City University of New York, where she provided strategic leadership and counsel to approximately 1,100 faculty, staff and administrators while overseeing a $91 million budget, including endowments, fundraising and centrally administered resources. She also served as a professor in the Department of Social Work.

Her appointment as president of Cal State LA marks a return to the CSU for Eanes, who previously served as vice president for Student Affairs at Cal State Fullerton (2012 to 2019), where she delivered leadership and oversight for myriad student success programs, as well as the university’s strategic plan and the development of new campus infrastructure projects. In 2018, Eanes received the CSU’s Wang Family Excellence Award for achieving transformative results in her role as a member of the CSUF president’s cabinet and as vice president.

Eanes is an acclaimed scholar who has been widely published in the field of social work. She has served as a faculty member or administrator at several institutions, including Columbia University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Morehouse College, Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, Hamilton College and Teach for Africa, Ethiopia.

Education

B.A., Public Health, Dillard University
M.A., Social Work, Boston University
Ph.D., Social Work, Clark Atlanta University